Harmonics of the Old West Melody
by MiranaKannon
Summary: The date is July 30, 1914. The US has officially entered WWI; Jack Marston has avenged his father. He goes back to tall trees to visit his childhood friends, when arriving he finds out from the other that Mel has left. Now he is intent on finding out why
1. Chapter 1

Fatal Accident

It was July 30th 1914, all of the United States were roaring for a victory over seas. World War I had been made official two days prior and everyone involved in the war were not expecting it to last past Christmas of the same year. In every saloon around this would be the topic for today and days to come, fathers were boasting that their sons would bring an end to the German "Huns". For the generation of teenagers in this time, they had a new way to make their fathers proud.

It was a new day; the sun was just now showing signs of rising. A miles outside of Manzanita's Post the sounds of animals wailing wanting to be des could be heard all around an isolated ranch, meaning the start of a new day to the child of the owners who had come back home on vacation from her work at the Saloon in Armadillo. The said female had agreed to take care of the animals while she stayed home, so her old father could get a break. It was her way of making up for leaving her family to take up this job.

Currently the seventeen year old female was stretching out her arms as she sat up and yawned, something she did every morning to wake her up and get her ready for the day to come. Wiping the crusts out of her eyes the blond haired female opened up her silver eyes to the world the blond swung her legs off the bed and onto the cold wooden floor, waking both her pets from their slumber. "Morning Amy, morning Dave." The blond spoke to both of her dogs as she stood up and further stretched her arms and legs. Throwing on some blue short shorts, which she made by cutting up a pair of jeans when it got to hot, a bra, top (that she had tied mid-chest), along with some socks and her lucky cowboy boots the blond them opened up her window and smelled the fresh crisp air. "I'd say I have 'bout a good hour 'er so before the sun fully rises. What do ya'll think?" She asked her two pets only to receive a sneeze from the larger of the two and a tail wag from the pup. "Who am I kidding, ya'll just animals, ye ain't got any sense of time."

As she jumped out via the window the female heard the echoes of her eldest pet growling. "Ah shut ye yap, Amy and let me get these chores done so we can run in town and meet up with Jack." With both pets behind her the blond made her way to the barn. It had been months since she had last seen the male, and it was literally the last time she had seen him. When he had come back months ago he was so busy with whatever he was doing that he had rode past her without saying a damn thing. It would be for this reason why the female was set on slapping his face to next week and back when he did come back. The two had known each other for only a month before he took on his quest to avenge his father, but in that month they had practically become siblings.

Twenty minutes later, the female was just about to let out the horses to the pen so she could clean out the stables when Dave began barking like he was mad. Turning to her loyal companion the female noted that Amy was gone but thought nothing of it and went back to her chores. After opening up the barn the blond sat back for two minutes waiting for the horses to run out and stretch their legs, instead she found all six of them huddled in the backs of their stalls furthest away from the house. "Now what in God's name…" before she could finish her sentence a loud howl erupted in the direction of her home and a second later the smell of burning wood reached her. "Amy?" Peeking her head out of the barn the female was shocked to find her parent's home up in flames with clouds of black smoke filling the air around it. "Ma! Pa!" Without a second thought the female was making her way back to the house, leaving the barn door wide open, and jumping over the closed pen as quickly as she could. As she neared the house she could hear her mother's screams for help, the cracking of wood, and both Dogs distressed yelps.

The female slid over to her mother and gave her a good look over before even thinking about how something like this could happen. "Mel dear," Her mother began before sniffling. "Your father, Mel you have to get yer father." The second her mother finished that sentence Mel was up on her feet and ready to run back in. "Why Mel, why would this happen to us. Please go get your father- I don't know what I'll do without him." Not wanting to believe this was happening or her father was in the burning house the female turned to her two loyal companions.

"Amy go run into town and get Jack, he will know what to do." Mel wasn't even sure if he was in town, but he was her only hope he always knew what to do in these kinds of situations. Not having to be told twice the eldest of her companions ran off toward Manzanita's Post. "Dave, Stay and guard ma. I'll be back out shortly." Ignoring the Shepard's whimpers the blond haired female ran into the house through the open front door in hopes to find her father and bring him out.

Not even a second after entering the Mel's lungs were bombarding with the choking smoke and an unfamiliar sickening smell that made her stomach turn. Determined not to leave her father in her to burn the teen made her way down the hall and into the living room, she had no choice but to cover her mouth and nose with her hand the smell and smoke were already becoming unbearable. "Pa!" Mel yelled as she removed her hand for a split second to crawl under a burning piece of wood to get to their bedroom. Normally her father would have been out of the house in a half hour or so to come out and talk to his daughter while she did the chores around the barn for him. She had no idea if he was asleep until then, or was doing other things around the house that he hadn't told her about. "Pa! Answer me!"

"Mel?" A voice called out barely audible to the female with the sounds of wood burning. "Help?" Running toward the voice Mel ended up outside of her parent's room, a room that she had never stepped in at all during her life. She had never been allowed to and though this seemed like it would be an exception to this rule but the female still stopped outside the door for a split second on instinct. "Mel!" He was definitely in there and his pleas were becoming more and more distressed.

"Pa hang in there old man I'm-," before she could finish her sentence another piece of wood slammed down onto the floor right behind breaking her thoughts. "I-I'm coming Pa, hang in there." As the female grasped the handle she quickly withdrew her hand, "Damn thing is as hot as the sun. Shit." Mel mumbled to herself between coughs before baking up to bring space between her and the door. "Get away from the door pa Imma kick the son'ofabitch down!" Before she could even think about lifting her leg to kick in the door more of the ceiling fell, and this time knocking her down onto her back. "Son of a-!" The blond was unable to finish her sentence

"Melody? Mel what the hell are you doing!" Snapping her head toward the second voice Melody was surprised to see not Jack but Michael kneeling next to her ripping the charred wood off of her before hauling her over his shoulder. "I have to get you out of here." Just as he finished that sentence screams irrupted from the closed door.

"Mel! Oh my God Mel where are you!" Her father managed out from behind the door before the screams changed from understandable to blood churning shrieks that she knew would never leave her mind.

"PA!" Melody yelled before violently coughing, she had been in the house too long and the two of them knew that. If she was going to make it out conscious he had no other option than to leave. Without a second thought the man made his way back toward the front door, knowing that soon his own lungs would be breathing in the charred, dry air. "Mike- what about…"

"I have to get you out of here. That is my priority."

"But…"

"No but's, listen to yerself, after every damn word yer coughing yer lungs out. Now shut up and let me save ya." The dark skinned man was a family friend to the Jones'; he normally stopped by every Thursday to help out wherever he could when she wasn't home. She was thankful that the man was in town and hadn't been told not to show up- if he hadn't been she could have. "Now set her young lady and don't ye move. I'll go see what I can do-," The roof collapsed onto the house, "Mrs. Jones!" Michael yelled, causing the female to turn from the fire ridden home to the man, her mother and all the people that were outside of the home. "Who the hell are ya?" Michael yelled, running from her mother back to the female who was now standing. More worried about her missing pets, her only link to her family, than the people who had their barrels pointed at them.

"Why I a no one other than Samuel Anderson young lad. And I will do the questioning around here." He nudged over to his men shutting the dark skinned male up. "I am quite curious. Is that Johns daughter, the beautiful Melody?"

"How dare ya compare me to that no good two timing, man stealing whore." Her mother had obviously been shot, and her father had just died in a fire. All sorts of alarms were going off in her head and instinct was telling her not to trust the man standing before her. There was something off about him, he was letting off a bad vibe and if he had just killed her mother admitting she was her daughter was not the brightest thing in the book. That was something Jack had told her, no matter what to trust your instincts.

"Well then, who are you my lady?" Samuel then asked a smirk played across Melody's lips. He wanted to know who she was, now did he? Well he was not about to learn that.

"Jefferson, Lilly Jefferson." Melody replied, now standing next to the man who was blocking her. "What is it to you?"

"Feisty, feisty your lady. I would watch your tongue if you knew what was best for ya." Melody's right eye twitched, she had blanked out all of the man's grunts, she was more focused on the man. What was he doing here and did he have anything to do with what happened on this dreaded day. "What were you doing in the house?"

"I was in there when your assholes set it on fire. Sleeping like most ladies my age do at this time of day, _sir._ I was visiting the family if you must know; my parents knew 'em." Lying came too natural to the female, and Michael was quickly learning this.

"Boss, Frank spotted a couple of men heading this way." Arching a brow Samuels's sight did not leave hers. The two were in a much heated battle of dominance, which could have headed down a bad road for the female had help not been on its way.

"Men, let's go." Samuel barked, "It was a pleasure meeting ye two, now if you don't mind I must make my exit now and disappear." With that the man mounted an American Standardbred before riding off north with his goons. Before Michael could turn to the female she was over where her mother was, obviously heartbroken yet no tear fell.

"What the hell happened to ya ma?" Melody whispered as she held her mother's head up in her arms, "What the hell happened here? Why did this happen?" She knew her mother would give her no answers; maybe she would have if she had just bullets in her torso but the blood she felt on the back of her head prevented that. Slowly setting her mother down the female stood up and turned to the dark skinned man, "Michael we have to get out of here."

"What, Why?" The man jetted out without a second thought as he followed the female to the barn.

"Think about it." She then started as she hopped over the fence, "we are the only two out here in the middle of nowhere. Nobody knows I am here and anyone who did know you came here is dead." Walking into the barn the female was overjoyed to see her two animals guarding the stallions from harm. "I didn't even knew you came up here. We will be prime suspects and thrown into jail for this, even though we both know it was not our fault." Bringing out two saddled Kentucky Saddlers a minute later, handing the reigns to one of them to the man. "It is best if we got away from this and let things play out like they will. I will go back to Armadillo inform Harmony and Dave of my situation and have them act like I was sick with them for the past couple days. I left in the middle of the night so no one knew that I had actually left town. You go back home, I will write and inform you on what the hell is going on after all of this settles.." Mounting the horses the two of them locked eyes for a minute, "I need you to promise me something."

"What?" Michael asked, as his mind absorbed the plan the female had come up with in a matter of minutes. He now understood why Jack said that if she wanted to be a criminal it would be damn hard to catch or track her…

"Don't tell Jack any of this happened." That had caught the male off guard, "Dave, Amy Follow." The two of them headed out of the barn and over the fence. "It'll just be easier this way, his mind is already revolving around his father's murderer and his mother just died. Let's not go and throw this on top of all that."

"What if he wantsta come down and see the place?" Michael then asked, the two had been good friends for a while and Jack had stopped by Michaels before the two of them would visit her parents in the past.

"Tell 'em the place burned down recently, ye just got word. Cops marked the place off limits, like we know they will, tell 'em to come back in a couple days." Melody managed out as they rode off on the only road that ran through Manzanita's Post. "Also we can't go through the post. There is bound to be someone there still, ye just can't leave a place abandoned now 'a days you know. So Imma head south toward the railroad, they will get me to Armadillo at least a day before the scouts do. Of course that is if they stop and rest at every town in between."

"They normally do." Michael added in, "Then I will just head my own route to the house." He said as he jolted his head in the direction, "So I 'spose I suppose I won't see ye as for a while?" He laughed trying to make the situation a little lese tense.

"Not for a while buddy, I'll come around sometime I promise. Good Hunting Johnson." Melody replied as she headed south.

"Good Hunting Jones!" Michael yelled back heading up north. With him out of her posse the female couldn't help but feel a little venerable, sure she had Dave and Amy with her but the female knew that she had to set them off too. "Dave, Amy go back to Harmony. But don't be seen, sneak in there at night go in through my window. If you can't scratch at Harmony's." She knew she could rely on the two of them, and hopefully since she was sending them back Harmony would catch on that something was off. Plus, they would end up there a good day before she would…if Justine didn't twist her ankle on the rail road of course, and if the train didn't happen to be heading toward her. "No but's I will meet you there, stay there unless Harmony says otherwise." With that her two dogs set off toward Armadillo on the dirt path while she and Justine continued toward the rail tracks.

[Well that's it for now. . Working on next chapter as we speak.]  
>[As for assassin's story. Give me time to figure out where to start it]<p>

[(Three different time zones is a bit confusing.D]

[Review will ya? IF I don't get many I won't post any until I get so much.]

[I hate doing that but if that has to be done so be it.]


	2. Chapter 2

Ignored Instinct

[Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dead Redemption or any of the original characters…the only thing I do own is my own Oc's and the plot of this fic. Even if I did own RDR I don't think I would change anything :D It's one of the few rockstar games I actually enjoyed]

It has been a good week since the man had finished off the last of his business with his father's murderer, [insert name here.] On his way back home the man choses to take a couple of detours here and there to try and figure out what he was going to do with his life. It couldn't have possibly hurt anything, or at least that was what he liked to tell himself. Deep down he knew that he didn't want to head back home, there was literally nothing waiting for him aside from his parent's graves. It wouldn't be until he hit Armadillo when he would remember that he had childhood friends that lived up in Tall Tree's; one of which he completely ignored the last time he had run into her a month ago. He didn't want to, he wanted to stop and talk but he was so close to avenging the man who ruined his life. She would surely understand, or that was what her parents had told him when he wrote that he would be visiting soon. Who knew kids better than their parents?

As he pulled up to Michael Johnsons house he saw the man sitting outside his home chopping up firewood for the quickly approaching winter season. "Michael!" Jack called out walking up to his dark skinned friend. He didn't know what it was with people around here, to him Michael was like any other human he had come across…only he had better qualities. The man was loyal, trusting, a great rancher, and most importantly an excellent friend. Why someone would hate him just because he was a little different from the rest of them didn't make sense to the man. "Any good news?" Jack asked now a couple feet in front of the man who was still continuing on with his firewood.

"Define good?" The dark skinned man asked pausing as he wiped his forehead. Jack raised a brow to the question, unsure what to think of it. "Your good and my good have been two different types of goods since the moment you left, brother."

"What do you mean?" Jack finally asked, remembering why it was he got along with Melody more than Michael when he was young.

"Killing the man who killed your father is good news for you. To me it's bad, no matter what he had done there were reasons behind them. Same as your father, as far as I am concerned killing people is killing people." Nodding Jack now understood what he was asking.

"My kind of good news Michael; is everyone doing ok? How are the ranches fairing, no recent criminal activity?"

"If that is the case all I have for you is bad news Jack." Michael answered as he went back to chopping wood. "There was a fire in near one of the ranches the other day. Good news, if you can call it that, the cattle, horses and livestock survived. Bad news: two people were killed."  
>"In the fire?" Jack asked cutting his friend off.<p>

"One of 'em, yeah. The other was murdered when I ran in to save the child." Michael replied, "Who was trying to save the father."

"One of 'em? What became of the mother then?" Jack asked a little perplexed by the situation.

"Shot and killed, the two of us hadn't heard it. The blaze was too loud. But she was shot, the bullet to the front of the head said so." Michael replied, swinging the ax down once more.

"The survivor?" Jack asked.

"Ran off to do what you had done, find the man who killed her parents." Jack hadn't quite caught on as to why the man was being so vague there were only five families who lived up north.  
>"A dark rode to head down, brother." Jack replied, "What of Melody, how is she fairing?"<p>

"That it is. Mel? She is slightly burnt, hadn't bothered to wash off before running south." With that one reply Jack caught on to the whole ordeal.

"You're telling me Mr. and Mrs. Jones was the ones killed in the fire?"

"That I am Jack. I don't know if she was in the house when it caught fire, he mother was not making sense before I ran inside to save her. Now she is after a man named Samuel or something of the sort... actually she is running from the sheriff right now-to Armadillo I think. Hoping she is marked dead or something I am sure. I had just got done talking to them before you came riding up here." Jack was soaking in all of the information; Samuel was not a name that was ringing a bell. And he couldn't quite understand why someone would want the couple and Mel dead. Then again he didn't know much about what her father did for a living before he settled down, what he did know was that the people who lived up here were normally wanted for dead by someone…for some reason or another. Michael's parents were killed off when he was fifteen, his father, and now Mel's.

"Where was she headed?" Jack finally asked now more concerned than ever about the blond. She was tough, he could admit that much. But a life of revenge was just not something a lady should be having to do herself. Even if the two of them were not in any relationship where it instantly became his responsibility, he was going to make it his. He knew what it was like going down that road; it was dark, lonely, and most importantly dangerous. That was not something he wanted Mel to go through, "The hell aren't you with her?"

Jack was sure that the male would have been stunned at least; the question was blunt and anything but polite. "Same reason why you didn't allow us to help you. Same reason why you didn't tell us." Michael answered as he put another block of wood up on the stump, "It is a path she has chosen to do on her own. She has a personal score to settle with the man, he killed her family. She has also proven to have much more pride than any girl and even some men I have come across. She doesn't play the girl card to get out of anything. Like you and me she took care of the wrangling of animals, breaking horses, and cutting firewood. Mel is not to be underestimated Marston- keep that in mind." Jack smirked; Michael was too smart for his own good sometimes. He could read people like books, and he knew that Michael knew he was going to help the female no matter what it took and no matter what she would say.

"Mike my friend, that brain you got there is going to get you killed someday." Michael stopped to laugh before slamming the ax into the stump.

"Had ya not beat the devil around the stump Marston, you and her coulda had one hell of a life going on up here in tall tree's. I guess yer still between hay and grass even after all ya have been through. "Also, don't tell Mel I told ya. She didn't want ya worrying over her and her problems when ye had yer own."

"Oh shut your big Bazoo. I was getting around to it." Marston replied only to get a round of laughs as a reply. "She is dreadfully pretty but what would she see in a guy like me. All I am worried about is them Flannel Mouths. Now if ya don't mind Johnson I'm heading out to catch me a Guy-gal." With that Marston spun on his heel and made his way over to his steed. "I give ya my word Johnson; if anything I will have heard this from the cops."

"Don't underestimate Mel, Marston! Also, she may not be happy to see ya!" With that Michael picked up the firewood he had chopped chucked it by his door and headed inside the house, leaving Marston with his thoughts on his last remark to himself. The female didn't want him after her, that much was true. Mike had obviously promised the girl he wouldn't tell him any of this…for him to go behind her back and break his word meant that he too was worried about the female. Mike was not one to obviously tell or show how he felt, in the month he had known the man he was able to notice this much. It was going to take him at least two days to hit thieves landing from here…Melody had a good day ahead of him. The chances of catching her were looking slim to none in Jacks mind.

**Send Reviews please, I won't post the next one up (next weekend) until I get three reviews.**  
><strong>Western Translations: <strong>  
>Beat the devil around the stump- to evade responsibility or a difficult task<p>

Between hay and grass- neither man nor boy, half-grown

Bazoo- Mouth

Flannel Mouths- Smooth Talkers

Guy-Gal- Tomboy


End file.
